What to do in Kiev
Kiev has a lot of history; a rich history, that is visible all over the city. Old buildings dating back to the Soviet time, churches, broad streets and beautiful parks. Modern culture is slowly taking over: a hip craft beer scene, modern restaurants and a lot of shops. But in between all these changes, Kiev still keeps its own identity.
Kiev is still relatively unknown as a weekend getaway destination, but it is perfect: amazing food, interesting history and close to Chernobyl. Here are some tips on what to do in Kiev
Do a free walking tour
We love participating in free walking tours (like in Reykjavik, Madrid and Barcelona). You learn a lot about the history of the city and get insider tips about lesser known places.
In Kiev, we did 2 free walking tours: one about Ancient Kiev, which covered the religion and older history, and Soviet Kiev, which was more about the turbulent Soviet history of the city. Both were really interesting: you learn things that you can’t get out of a city guide. And you can see buildings that can be off limit if you are on your own (the buildings in the Jewish quarter). If you do both (on the same day), you see almost all of the important buildings and places of Kiev.
They are very superstitious in Kiev, so you will come across a lot of statues and places where you can ask for anything you want ;).
Visit Chernobyl
From Kiev, you can do a day (or multi-day) trip to Chernobyl. We booked a trip with SoloEast travel for 1 day. Read more about it here.
Do a self-guided street art tour
There is a lot of street art in Kiev: the big murals are visible all over the city. The best way is to pick 1 or 2 neighbourhoods to explore them. We stayed close to our hotel but saw some very interesting artwork.
See the deepest subway station
Kiev has the deepest subway station in the world (Arsenalna). It is located 105.5 meters below the surface. To get to the platforms, you take 2 escalators which seem endless.
All subway stations in Kiev are very deep because they were also used as bomb shelters. But they are also very beautiful. And a token for one ride only costs € 0.25, but in some stations, you can also pay by credit card (if you have a ‘no contact pay’ card).
Go to the opera
We didn’t actually go to the opera (only saw the building) because it really isn’t our thing. But I want to mention it because it is (like everything in Kiev) very cheap to go to the opera or a ballet performance.
On the website, you can buy tickets for specific performances ranging from 50 UAH (€1.5)) for the cheapest seats to 1000 UAH (€30) for the best and most expensive seats.
Did you already visit Kiev? Did you love it?
